Breakfast in Bed
by Tonic the Hedgehog
Summary: Chapter 2 is up, and the fic is completed! A short Christmas tale of Loudmouths and Blueberry Pancakes......InoKiba. T for some sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, Ino…"

She opened her heavy, topaz eyes and stared into his thin, carnivorous ones with muggy vision. The asshole… she slowly shut her eyes again.

"Com on, Ino… Wake up."

She turned over on her side and away from his annoying, hoarse voice. She would have thrown the many blankets over her head to shut out both the cool winter breeze and him, but he was holding them down somehow. It seemed he was getting used to her morning mannerisms. Though she could blot her eyesight with the darkness of her eyelids she couldn't help but feel the warmth of his body heat looming over her. She sighed when he tenderly pressed his lips against her forehead. He always tried to be tender when he knew he was in trouble. She turned over on her back, and opened her eyes again. She rubbed them groggily and groaned softly. Her eyes were finally adjusted to the white light pouring into the window. She stared with boredom at the jerk in front of her. He had some nerve to touch her with those despicable lips…

"What do you want?" Ino shot out at him, her brutal tone further alleviated by the frog in her throat.

He was practically on top of her, but his legs were standing on the carpet to the side of the bed. His hands were pressed against the covers Ino enwrapped herself in and he bunched them up tightly with his fist, explaining why she couldn't lift them up over her head. His arms were positioned on either side of Ino's body, caging her into his filthy clutches. His wild brown hair, as dark as tree-bark and bushy as a hedgehog's hide, was already slightly up heaved by his blue forehead protector. He already had his usual dark-brown pants on. She spotted his stupid leather jacket on the edge of the bed. He was still wearing that dingy A-shirt that he had just slept in…. meaning he DIDN'T take a shower before putting on his outdoor clothes like Ino always complained about. Her eyes were too weary to show him how angry she was with him. She cleared the frog from her throat.

"Hmph. So you woke me up to see you leave then? I guess it wasn't bad enough that you have to leave in the first place."

Ino showed no pity, despite the scowl of genuine sorrow on her lover's face. His eyes fled from her beauty to the imprint of her legs between the blankets to keep them from widening with lust. Even though she was pretty angry with him, he couldn't help being taken by her sexiness. Her hair was released from the white ribbon that usually had it bound, and it was strewn all over her pillow like a web of white-yellow. Her cream-colored skin complimented the white brightness of the sun, and her platinum-white bra peaked out of the hem of the blankets. The bags under her eyes didn't do a thing to mar that pretty face. They say that you never know how a lady really looks until you wake up next to her. Most guys frowned at the truth of that saying… it made him smile wider. Man, she looked so good. She couldn't imagine how much he wanted to stay… either that, or she didn't care to imagine.

"I already explained to you that I have no choice, baby."

"Yeah, you explained it to me… doesn't make it hurt any less."

"I really don't want to argue about this-"

"Neither do I. Now why did you wake me, Kiba?" Ino cut him off.

Kiba's beastly iris's seemed to grow thinner and brighter as she reminded him of his little surprise. A sudden fang-ridden smile arose on his sorrowing face like the rising sun on a dark night. He looked excited… panicked even! He flung his hands off of the bed and held them up to her in a beckoning motion.

"Right! Okay okay, just stay-right-there!"

"I'm not going anywhere." Her words were dripping with venom, designed to cripple and immobilize Kiba's excited disposition. "Unlike you, I don't go to clan meetings on Christmas."

Kiba smiled even wider.

"You keep trying to pick a fight, but you're not going to ruin my good mood! Now, I'll be right back."

"Hurry up before I go back to sleep."

He made his way out of the bedroom, and down the hall.

It wasn't until he left that Ino decided to push herself up in a sitting position, knowing that he probably would have tried to 'start something' if he saw too much skin. She knew the horny bastard all to well. Even now she could feel certain parts of her body aching from last night.

She turned her gaze to the window... She hadn't realized that large snow flurries were still gliding to the ground since last night. It was a perfect Christmas morning. A true "Winter Wonderland"… Ino sighed. She allowed a hint of grief to crack the ice wall she had been projecting to Kiba.

"FIDO?" Ino called out to Kiba suddenly in his pet name.

"**YEAH, BABY?" **He called back from the kitchen, whilst noisily moving pots and pans.

"PLEASE DON'T GO…" Her whine was filled with aching anxiety and desperation.

"**INO… I HAVE TO GO. IT'S A TRADITION. I JUST BECAME A JOUNIN, AND AS A MEMBER OF THE INUZAKA CLAN, I HAVE TO DO THIS "INAUGRATION CEREMONY" THING." **

"BUT IT'S CHRISTMAS!"

"**BABY, THEY DON'T CARE. MY CLAN NEVER CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS. I WOULD GET OUT OF IT IF I COULD, BUT THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO." **

"…YOU CAN CHOOSE ME OVER THEM." She spoke flatly.

"**I'M NOT DOING THIS AGAIN, INO. WE WENT OVER THIS LAST NIGHT. STOP TRYING TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE IT'S SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS ME CHOOSING MY CLAN OVER YOU!" **

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS!" The ice was beginning to reform.

"**OKAY. WHATVER. IF YOU SAY SO…. I TOLD YOU I'M NOT ARGUING ANYMORE, SO I'M ENDING THIS RIGHT NOW." **

Of course, arguing and fighting was what held their unstable relationship together. Ino and Kiba both had very loud and aggressive personalities. They were both very cocky. They were both very stubborn. There were both very much alike… so much alike, that they repelled themselves apart as two magnets. It was uncommon for their teammates and friends to not see them at each other's throats. Right now Kiba was too happy to argue, but generally they were both too stubborn to stop. They would flare up on each other, feeding the fire more and more until there was nothing left to burn. Then, when they would burn themselves out, all that was left was 'them'… and 'they' were both hotly attracted to each other. This was when the process teeter-tottered. They were suddenly all over each other. You can almost measure the intensity of their fights by the way they "made up" afterwards. If he looked at some other women, she would punish him with kisses. If she was complaining about the toilet seat, he would silence her with a healthy make-out session. If they screamed in an argument about the expenses of their new home, you could be sure they would be screaming much louder in apology all night long. If they got into a big fight on Christmas Eve about how they would spend their Holidays… well, that was why Ino was so sore right now.

"FINE! I'M GOING BACK TO BED!" Ino fell back on her pillow in a bitter temper tantrum.

"No you're not!" Kiba said warmly as he stood at the entrance of their bedroom.

Ino looked at him with confusion and tired intrigue as he walked up to the bed with a plastic, orange platter in his hands. From her vantage point she couldn't see what the platter held. He made his way beside her and lightly placed the plastic tray around her thigh area.

The bored and cold attitude had no choice but to vacate at this strange sight. She raised an eyebrow as she looked up at Kiba's cheesy, smiling face.

"What is this?" Ino asked.

"What does it look like? I made you breakfast!"

Ino kept the eyebrow raised high in the air as the food caused billows of steam to dance upward in the cold air…. Kiba explained further, pointing to the different items represented on the platter.

"See, here's some scrambled eggs, some sausage, some cereal with those tiny marshmallows, a mug of hot chocolate, a few candy canes, and two pieces of buttered toast!"

Kiba kept the wide smile on his face with expectancy of Ino's response. Ino looked down at the breakfast platter with a frown…. Eventually, Kiba dropped his smile, and frowned lamely.

"… I would have made those blueberry pancakes you love so much, but we were all out of flour." He spoke with a hint of an attitude.

"You burned the toast."

No one even noticed when he came in the room, but Akamaru suddenly reared his huge head on the side of the bed, and carried one piece of the buttered toast away in his mouth. They both watched Akamaru leave the room… and Kiba glared back at Ino.

"Well, at least someone around here appreciates it." He spoke sharply, grabbing his leather jacket and throwing it over his shoulder.

Ino giggled a little.

"What the hell is so funny?" Kiba demanded as he put his arms into the sleeves.

Ino smiled, a trace of sorrow still showing itself in the corners of her lips.

"You told me 2 years ago that you were terrible at cooking and that you would never do it!"

Kiba scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Well, I changed my mind…"

"So, you brought me breakfast in bed in order to make up for not spending Christmas with me this year?"

"Did it work?" Kiba asked with that cute 'bad boy' smirk that Ino was crazy about.

Ino patted her hand on his side of the bed with a welcoming smile. Kiba crawled back on the bed to Ino's side. The blonde kunoichi moaned, closed her eys, and giggled with her mouth shut as he rubbed his nose against her exposed neck. She turned to his side and gave him a quick peck to the lips. They looked at each other for a moment before meeting again for another kiss.

"I haven't been very fair with you, have I?" Ino said, placing her hand over his cheek, and rubbing into his face marks. She turned her body toward him.

"I understand why you're upset… I'm so sorry I can't be here for you today."

Kiba frowned. Ino feigned a smile, and sucked her teeth.

"I have never seen you this sensitive in a long time, Fido!" Ino blurted out before pinching his cheek. "It's adorable, but it's almost a turn-off."

"Well, I have never seen you this sad in a long time." Kiba spoke seriously, not allowing her to brush off her sadness.

The blonde shinobi frowned once more, and her eyelids attempted to cover her grief as they folded over the top half of her pupils. She threw her arm around Kiba's shoulder. Kiba sat up against the bed so that Ino could place her other arm around his side. She did, and they now lay facing each other in a hug-like embrace.

"… I guess it's just something about the Holidays that makes me… I just feel so alone sometimes, Kiba." She clenched him tighter. "I never see my team anymore, I never see Sakura anymore, I never see my family anymore… The jounin lifestyle keeps us all so busy and separated from each other. When one of us isn't on a mission, the other one is. I almost wish we never even became jounin, you know?"

Kiba didn't say a word. He was never big on rectifying emotional conflicts like these, and whenever Ino got like this he felt so helpless. All he could do was clench her back, hoping that his arms and his love would be able to get through to her in a way his words couldn't.

"And now I have to stay here by myself for Christmas."

The room became so silent that you could hear the winter winds howling outside of the window.

"..Aren't you going to visit Sakura and the others later tonight?"

"Yeah, but it's going to be a short visit. A bunch of them are preparing to go to the Grass Country for an S-Class mission tomorrow. And even then it's not the same… I wanted to be with you, Kiba."

"… Ino, I-"

"Forget about it, Fido." She perked up again suddenly, this time sounding a bit more believable. "Our whole argument was so selfish of me. I can't expect you to always be there for me whenever I get in these 'boo hoo' fits."

"Yes you can! What else are boyfriends for?" Kiba smiled.

Ino looked a little shocked at his sudden profession. He usually wasn't very good at this sort of stuff, but what he said was just what she needed to hear. The sorrow was curiously banished and sealed by the fuuinjutsu that proceeded from her lover's lips. It felt so good. It felt better then a full-body massage. It felt like chocolate tasted. If felt better then buying that perfect dress at half price moments before the store closes. It felt better then gossiping with Sakura. It felt better then teasing Shikamaru and Chouji. It felt better then cuddling with her father around the fireplace…. His words felt better then blueberry pancakes on a Christmas morning.

"Kiba..."

That was it. She ran her fingers through his hair, but couldn't say another word. She had been with him for 3-4 years, and it wasn't until this day that she realized how deeply she was in love with this dog boy.

"Uhmmm, Ino?"

A wad of sweat dropped down Kiba's back. His girlfriend looked like she got hit in the head with a mallet. Her eyes were so spaced out and dazed-looking. The fact she had been stroking his hair for a good while with no words was even more bizarre.

"… I really want to stay, but I have to go now, Baby."

Kiba hunched in for a last minute peck, which awoke Ino from her dreamy daze. As soon as she woke up, she grabbed his head and pulled him into a deeper kiss. Kiba deepened the kiss, turning his head to the side slightly and pushing his tongue into her tiny mouth. He tried to break away from the kiss by leaning back, but Ino immediately leaned forward and brought him into another kiss. This time she forced her tongue into his tongue and wrestled it below her own into the waiting pool of her warm saliva. With his lips still wrapped around hers, Kiba slowly got off of the bed while Ino continued to follow his lips. She was now out of the comforters and slowly leaving her lying position. They finally broke away. Kiba stared in bewilderment as Ino sat up with her shins against the mattress with a devilish grin and famished eyes. Her long hair was masking the entire right side of her face. She was only wearing the platinum-white bra and panty ensemble. Kiba was the one from the Inuzaka clan, but Ino was the one who looked like she was ready to pounce. Kiba didn't know what he did to bring about this change, but he obviously didn't care.

"Fido!" she whined, moving her free hair out of her right eye. "Can't you stay just a little longer?"

"Sorry, but I'm already running late…" Kiba said in a regretful tone. "Now…. I want to kiss you good-bye one final time, but I'm afraid you won't be a good girl and you'll try to keep me here."

"Awww, don't worry!" She smiled deceptively and sat with crossed legs on the edge of the bed. "I'll be good…"

"Are you sure?"

Kiba had already moved in close for another kiss when he asked her this. He was looming over her as she lifted her head to him with her lips pushed outward, ready to take in a little more love.

"Yeah..."

She answered into his mouth, before giving him one final kiss. Their lips let out a 'smack' that was loud enough to wake the neighbors upon breaking the kiss.

"…. Don't forget about your breakfast." Kiba reminded her. Somehow, with all their movement, it didn't tip over. "I'll have another surprise for you when I see you tomorrow morning! Merry Christmas, Baby."

Kiba made his way out of the room, and through the hallway. Ino tried to force the huge smile off her face as she heard him open the front door. She heard Akamaru bark before running off the wooden porch into the deep snow covering Konoha.

"Merry Christmas, Fido…" Ino whispered to herself.

The door slam shut.


	2. Chapter 2

A bright shower of ice crystals, along with the howl of the winter night shot life into the house as she finally unlocked the door. A wall of boxes clothed in wrappings of all colors and textures came crashing down into the open doorway before she did.

"**Alright, Ino-Pig, I'll see you soon! And go easy on Kiba tomorrow morning. He's a great shinobi so Konoha needs him in one piece!" **

"Can't promise you that, Forehead! Tomorrow Fido is all mine, so screw Konoha!" Ino taunted back to Sakura before stepping into her house, which was now blanketed in a thick sheet of snow.

Sakura laughed aloud, though it could barely be heard above the night's airy hollers.

"**Kay, Ino, gotta go. Merry Christmas!" **

"Merry Christmas!"

Ino finally shut the maelstrom of white out of her house, effectively silencing the hollers of Christmas out as well. She lightly kicked her legion of gifts from her family and friends, hoping that her examination of anyone of them being fragile was accurate, into the corner of the living room by the couch. She took special care with Kiba's present; wrapped in green gift wrapping with a glistening red ribbon tied around as its bow, placing it down on the seat of the nearby couch. Instead of stomping the snow that clung to her leather boots off into the carpet, Ino was content to just take them off and leave them at the entrance of the door. She then peeled the hood, ringed with the fur of mink, off of her head. She pulled her platinum-blonde locks, tied in its usual ribbon, out of its place beneath the back part of her baby-blue winter jacket. She unzipped her jacket as well, shaking off the snow flakes that attached to it at the same time, and took it off to reveal her white cotton sweater…. It was actually pretty warm in the house… She must have left the heat running accidentally when she left the house about 6 hours ago. Damn. Kiba was going to have a fit when he saw the gas bill.

It wasn't until she turned away from placing her jacket on the coat rack that she noticed the soft orange illumination of candles coming from her bedroom.

"_O, Kiba… I knew you would find a way…"_

Fido was home. This explained why the heat was turned on… but once Ino saw the candle light, the gas heater was no longer necessary. If there was any snow left clinging to her clothing it would have been melted from the heat coming off of Ino's smoldering body. She was smiling so hard that her face muscles were hurting. As she glided toward her room with a number of colorful thoughts dancing in her mind, she almost wanted to pull off of her clothing before she made it to the room just to see the look on his face… She bit down on her lower lip as she glided on.

She could feel the fire within her burn hotter and hotter with every step, the tongue of those inner flames ascending up and licking the base of her heart. The smoke from the inner fire arose into her mind, providing cover so that the vivid fantasies could run on without interruption. By the time she was but a few feet from the open door to her room the fire was torturous. The tongue of her flames tickled her heart mercilessly, and she almost giggled. She pulled off her sweater to reveal a tight white t-shirt, but sufficed to keep the rest of herself dressed. This way, Fido would have **two **presents to unwrap.

As soon as she turned her head into the doorway her heart dropped… as did her huge smile. It turned out to be a good thing that she kept her clothes on… There was no Fido in sight!

"FIDO?!?!?" She called out with a pout and a pinch of frustration.

After waiting a few moments for an answer she became even more distraught. If he was planning on surprising her he would have jumped on top of her from the closet a few seconds ago. Ino knew how long it took for Kiba to crack under the pressure of sexy foreplay games, and it wasn't very long at all… And even if the dog boy had managed to become more 'tame' since the last time they spoke, Akamaru would have ruined the surprise by barking by now.

In the blink of an eye, her frustration was morphed into sudden awareness. She sharpened her eyes by narrowing them and spread her legs apart in a battle stance. She almost thought to pull out a kunai. These were dangerous times for Konoha… it was unlikely their enemies had made it past the village borders undetected, but this could be a trap. Ino and Kiba, like most of the Rookie Nine, had both become renowned and feared shinobi to Konoha's enemies and it was likely that said enemies knew of their relationship with each other. Because they knew of their relationship, it was possible they could exploit it.

"_Sigh… Take it easy, girl…" _

The jounin eased her own mind and sighed in relief as she saw the contents on the bed between the scented candles that burned on the dressers on either side of the mattress. She walked over slowly to her bed, bathed in the fiery hues of the candle's light. Her steps were filled with caution and her eyes were filled with intrigue as she stood over the contents.

"_iAwww!!!/i" _

She sat at the edge of the bed and ran her hands over the shimmering golden wrappings of the rectangular present that lay on the pillows. She smiled with the warmth of fresh-baked cookies as her nails dug into a huge gap between where the wrapping should have met and overlapped (obviously, Kiba had wrapped it himself), and stripped the wrapping off. Inside was a rectangular box. It was one piece of egg-colored cardboard covering and fitting over another piece of cardboard… Ino knew the style of packaging very well. It was obviously clothes!

She violently yanked off the top piece of cardboard and was ready to burrow into the thin paper material (which generally accompanied this type of clothing packages) when she noticed the folded piece of loose leaf paper. She picked up the piece of paper from its perch atop the paper material of the box, unfolded it, and began to read.

"**_GOTCHA!!!!" _**

Ino's eyes narrowed in anger as she kept the same warm smile. She should have known.

_**HAH!, I wish I could see the look on your face the exact moment you realized I'm not there anymore! I bet the candles got you all 'in the mood' and everything, didn't they? Keep it in your panties, you pervert!**_

"_Hardy har har…Very funny, asshole.." _

_**But seriously, sorry about tricking you! And don't worry I'll be home pretty early tomorrow so try to stay warm for me until then. You better be awake by the time I get there.**_

"_Hmph. Is that so?"_

_**Sorry again for not being there today. I'll make it up to you, baby.**_

"_Damn right, you will."_

_**I wanted to catch you before you went out with Sakura, but I guess I was too late. I waited here for about 20 minutes, but I had to leave again. I just wish you were here right now. It's so strange. I never wanted you this bad in a long time. It's almost like the feeling I got when we first started going out. On our dates I was always just waiting for you to stop talking so I could kiss you. I would do anything to have you back then. It's just like that right now. I want to kiss you, Ino.**_

"mmmmm… Kiba." She could almost feel his breath against her warm flesh as she guided her own hand up and down her neck.

_**But, I'll stop wasting paper now. Your probably wondering how I came back, eh? The truth is there was a little recess time during the Inauguration Ceremony, so I managed to get out of the meeting for a little while. Just like I thought, the whole proceeding is pretty boring… and bizarre. A group of the elder clan members were doing strange things with a tiny dog statue. Creepy things. I'll tell you all about it when I get back.**_

"_Yippy… can't wait." _Sarcasm encircled her mind as she took her hand off of her neck.

_**You probably threw this note away because you were tearing into your present too fast.**_

"Heh. Shows what you know."

_**But on the off-chance that you haven't, you can go open your gift. But don't read the next paragraph until you're done looking at your gift! Okay, open it……… NOW!**_

"Idiot."

Ino lowered the note from her eyes and finally removed the thin paper blanket. The house could barely contain her eyes as they widened in shock. She couldn't even think a word, little own say one. She lifted it up into the air by its shoulder straps, wanting to see it set ablaze by the light of the candles. Ino finally let out a gasp of ecstasy as her right hand passed over the soft fabric of the most breathtaking negligee she had ever seen. There was no way he brought this in this village… the tender, shimmering taupe color of this indescribably soft fabric wasn't typical of Konoha fashion. The 'lack of modesty' in the gown was also very unlike The Village Hidden in Leaves. She hadn't measured it against her own body yet, but she could already tell it would barely touch the top of her knees. The upper hem of the negligee's bust was all but see-through and had rose-shaped cuts in the fabric to reveal even more skin… After the haze of amazement had cleared out of the room, Ino immediately hugged the gorgeous gown against herself in place of the man who gave it, swaying her hips from side-to-side as she smiled dreamily. The material was so damn soft… She picked up the note and began reading as she demanded an answer, an explanation behind how he could possibly make her so happy.

_**Nice, isn't it?**_

She laughed aloud at the over-simplification, tears of joy begging to be released.

_**Don't worry about exactly where or how I got it. I have my connections. They told me the light-brown color worked best with your natural complexion, or something. I told them baby-blue was your favorite color, and they assured me once you saw the gown that it wouldn't make a difference. The silk is from the Wind Country. I don't pretend to understand this stuff, but I do know that I never felt anything so soft and light in my life. It feels like a dream. **_

THAT was the perfect way to put it! Like a dream… It appears the material wasn't as indescribable as Ino imagined.

_**I want you to sleep in it. I want to see you in it when I get back! Okay, I have spent enough time here. I have to leave again. I'll have another present with me when I come back. Akamaru helped me out with this one! Anyway, I'll see you then. Love ya, baby.**_

Ino crashed down against her bed, overtaken and utterly overpowered by love. She held on to the negligee with a terrifying grip, and eventually arose from the bed with a warmth in her heart that would make the flames of the scented candle lower their heads in shame. She waltzed over to the full-body mirror on the closet door, and pressed the gown against herself to see how it would fit. She smiled at her own reflection like she just got away with murder. She suddenly began to walk out of the bed room with the gown still in her hand. She made her way to the picture frame sitting on the third shelf to a wooden display case in the living room, and stopped in front of it.

"NOW do you approve?" she spoke suddenly with the muscle-pulling smile on her face. "See, I told you he was a good catch! Just look at what he brought me…"

Ino displayed the gown in front of the picture, holding it out to the picture as though she was giving it to it.

"I wish you could feel the silk!...AND that's not all! Look at this note he left me!"

She was talking quickly and sporadically like a hyperactive 5 year old. She ran up to the display case and laid the note flatly in front of the picture.

"It's pretty romantic…. He tries to hide it, but he's a hopeless romantic just like you!"

Ino sat down on the floor and looked up at the picture, continuing the conversation.

"He may not buy me roses, but he's definitely romantic like you… he was rough around the edges when we first started dating, but I think I did a good job fixing him up, don't you?"

She let the question hang in the air for a moment… and kept talking once more.

"I just wonder when he's going to put a ring around my finger…. Yeah, I know I'm still pretty young, but I definitely know I wouldn't regret it. I love him so much…."

She sighed… her eyes wondered away from the picture and toward the window. She watched the snow fall for a while.

"… Oh, and I'm taking care of those two, just like you wanted me to! Well…. I more take care of Chouji then anything else. Temari does a pretty good job keeping Shikamaru in line these days, but I still smack him every now and then just to keep him on his toes!"

Ino sighed tiredly.

"Their every bit as wishy-washy as they were back then… Their both a handful to deal with, but nothing I can't manage."

She allowed the silence to hang in the air.

"And about the other thing you said…. Give me time! Some say that Sakura has already surpassed the Hokage Tsunade-sama in skill! That's a helluva lot to compete with! But, I promised…. And I will **not** let her beat me in ninjutsu…. Besides, the praise I am getting for my performance in the recent ANBU missions says I am no slouch myself!"

Silence. Even the howls of winter ceased.

"But I definitely have her beat on the battlefield of love!" Ino frowned harshly. "That's not to say I'm happy about it, though… She took Sasuke's death pretty hard… we all did… to this day, it doesn't even seem real to us."

Silence.

"Yeah, she still has Naruto…. to be honest, I hate the way they both act with each other… They admit to loving each other, and she tells me they have kissed more then once, but somehow Sasuke's death never lets either of them go too far… It's like there always just getting started, and never quite make it anywhere…. Sometimes I feel like crying when I think of how unhappy Sakura and Naruto have become... I hope they eventually find what I have found with Kiba… I hope they find it, and get lost in it… just like I have."

Ino looked back up at the picture, and laughed nervously.

"…It's been a long time since we've spoken… but, I'm just not good at this sort of stuff. I know Shikamaru and Chouji do it all the time… but it's weird for me. I hope you don't think I'm ignoring you…"

Ino dropped her head and stared into the gown.

"No… I'm definitely not ignoring you. It's just that this is very uncomfortable for me…"

Silence once more.

"….. Okay, I'm going to leave soon. Don't take this the wrong way, but your beginning to bum me out a little." Ino said with a giggle.

The silence definitely was 'bumming' her out, but that didn't stop it from being silent all the more.

"In fact, I don't know how this talking to the dead is supposed to help anyone out! They say it helps deal with the grief, but how? It's not like you're going to respond back. You can't hear me… MAN, this is so depressing! I just don't get it at all."

…

"…Remember the last Christmas we all spent together? It was snowing, and Shikamaru didn't want to come out and make snowmen with us. He said it was troublesome and childish. So, we snuck into his house, and threw him out into the snow in his underwear!"

Ino burst into laughter, before sighing once more.

"… We had so many good times…. I miss you…. I miss you so **much." **

A chord of pain struck on her last word, and caused her to put more emphasis on it then she liked. She wiped the first tear away quickly, but the grief was merciless. Her face scrunched up in anger, and her lungs pushed out the sobs she was holding back. A few streams ran down her face, but most of her tears stayed within her eyelids, making her eyes red and weary. She allowed the gown to rest beside her on the carpet. She threw her arms over her face, and rested her heavy head against the carpet she sat on. Her sobs eventually filled the room, and her body trembled as she still tried to fight back her mourning. She wept bitterly and loudly, her breathing became quick and spastic. She tried to get a hold of herself, but it was much too late for that. She sunk down drowsily into her grief-stricken stupor, allowing the sobs free reign for a moment. Beneath her arms she shook her head against the carpet, dampening it with tears. She almost hollered as she forced the pain out of her lungs all at once... Ino's body continued to tremble as she eventually began to take deep breaths again. She lifted up her heavy head, and slowly wiped the tears from her darkened face.

"S-See what you made me do!" She exclaimed in a mix of humor and exasperation, sniffing heavily.

….

She continued rubbing her eyes and wiping the moisture off of her cheeks

"Like I said…. I'm not good at this stuff at all… It's been a few years now, so you'd think it would be easier…. sorry that it isn't."

…

"Anyway, I'm going to try on this negligee now… I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to worry about me anymore… I'm in love with a very good man who does enough worrying for all three of us!…."

….

"Not that you're out of a job, or anything!... I'm just saying you can rest a little easier… at least when it comes to me… I'm in very capable hands these days…Lets just both hope he takes a hint and decides to get that ring soon!"

Ino stood up from the ground, dusted herself off and sighed in relief. She began smiling at the picture again. In some twisted way... This was the best Christmas Ino had ever had… and it was all thanks to two men…. Two men she was hopelessly in love with. She took the note away from the picture. She looked at the picture for a moment.

"Don't tell Kiba I still felt a little lonely tonight… It's such a turn-off when he gets too mushy."

She picked up the frame, and lightly pressed her lips against the glass cover with that warmth in her heart that made all the candle flames in the world ashamed.

"Don't tell Kiba I did that either! He is SO jealous sometimes…"

…

"Merry Christmas, sensei…"


End file.
